California News Reporter

Marvel’s Eternals are out and if you’re worried that the “rotten” rating is an issue, read our article to find out why the Eternals are a much bigger film than the ratings suggest and how they might change the future of Hollywood cinema.

The Eternals, Marvel’s 26th MCU film, is hitting theaters this week and although it has raised a lot of spirits due to its current “Rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film still has something to offer and that is possibly more important than the ratings themselves. Respecting the societal trends which call not just for equality, but also for the diversity, the Eternals are probably one of the best modern-day examples of how just one movie can do so much for practically everyone. 

The first thing that exemplifies this is the movie’s director, Chloé Zhao. The recent Oscar-winning director – only the second woman to win the directing Oscar after Katheryn Bigelow – has ventured into the world of superhero movies after mostly directing indie dramas which, despite their inherent quality, haven’t really reached the masses. So, the MCU has not only opted for an award-winning indie director, but also a female, and a female of Asian heritage, at that. To have such a person head such a major studio release is a precedent in modern Hollywood we hope will become a trend real soon. 

But, while Zhao’s inclusion isn’t such a big surprise, the diversity of the cast of the Eternals is something that is truly admirable in every aspect. Twelve actors and actresses have been billed as the movie’s stars. Out of the twelve, a total of five are women – which is almost 50% – which is an amazing thing for modern Hollywood and, again, also something we hope to see in other movies. 

Angelina Jolie is certainly the biggest name among the female leads, but Mexican-American actress Salma Hayek, who portrays the Eternal Ajak, is right next to her. English actress Gemma Chan, whose parents come from Hong Kong, plays Sersi, one of the movie’s most important characters, and we also have African-American actress Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, and child actress Lia McHugh as Sprite. What is also important is that some of these roles are originally male, but Marvel has done a great job at adapting them for the actresses who play them. 

The diversity is, if you thought otherwise, also present when the seven male stars are concerned. Scottish actor Richard Madden appears as Ikaris, one of the strongest Eternals, while young Irish star Barry Keoghan appears as the Eternal Druig. To that, you also have to add African-American actor Brian Tyree Henry who appears as Phastos, Korean-American actor Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Pakistani-American actor Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, and Indian actor Harish Patel as his manager. Finally, actor Kit Harrington appears as Dane Whitman. 

A surprise appearance is that of singer/actor Harry Styles, who also appears as Thanos’ brother, Eros, in the movie’s post-credits scene. 

Now, as you can see, the Eternals offer the whole lot. This is one of the most diverse casts in modern-day Hollywood and if such a big-budget movie from a big studio is giving us such diversity, it can only do good for the future of the movies, as it is expected that other major studios will start following this trend.